Guangdong Lender's Auction
Is Expected in First Quarter

By

Nisha Gopalan Dow Jones Newswires

Updated Nov. 28, 2005 12:01 a.m. ET

HONG KONG &ndash; The auction of Guangdong Development Bank, set to be the first sale of a majority stake in a Chinese bank, isn't likely to be completed until the first quarter of 2006 as the local government plans to recapitalize the state-owned institution first, said people familiar with the situation.

The stake sold in the bank could be more than 75%, as regulators plan to make an exception to the 25% cap on foreign holdings...